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T h e K i n g ’ s r/„ ) Ietc c^Qeague o f B u s i n e s s
April 1932
E V A N G E L IC A L o W e n i s
By LEW IS SPERRY CHAFER* Dallas, T e x ."
I t is not now considered the prerogative of institutions for general academic learning to maintain an aggressive spiritual and Biblical testimony. Though this may have been their practice in the years that are past, the situation is entirely changed today. ot more than two generations ago, it was customary to commit the spiritual life of the student to the college branch of the Y.M.C.A., and this trust was discharged with a good degree of faithfulness and efficiency. Those were the days when the spiritual ideals of the Y.M.C.A. were dominated by great leaders such as D. L. Moody and his as sociates. Gradually the spirit of rationalism has become dominant in the majority of our educational institutions, and with it there has come a noticeable weakening of vital testimony on the part of all religious agencies which share the community life of the college or university. But the problem of student life—the old and immutable necessity of regeneration through faith in Christ Jesus, a vital Christian experience, and victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil—are just as crucial as ever, and there is nothing in a “ social gospel” or in any program of mere physical benefit which solves these problems. With the student body ever increasing and the active spiritual forces ever decreasing, conditions have steadily grown worse rather than better. The Christian pyblic should know that a new organiza tion, which is called the League of Evangelical Students, has been formed to foster and maintain evangelical testi mony, evangelistic zeal, and spiritual life among the stu dents of the various educational institutions of America. Chapters are formed, and the Christian students are thus banded together for personal work, for personal encourage ment by prayer and conference, and for the distribution of vital literature. That atheism is organized in colleges and universities is well known by all, and those who deplore this spread o f infidelity will take comfort in the attempt of the League of Evangelical Students to foster a program for an orthodox testimony. The following statement is made in a recent article by one of the officers o f the League: Six years ago, the officers o f the national Y.M.C.A., desiring to organize an inter-seminary conference, invited representatives o f a number o f such institutions to an initial meeting. The delegates from Princeton Seminary raised fhe question o f a doctrinal basis and, failing to ■ secure any such basis, declined to take part in the pro- *President, Evangelical Theological College.
posed organization. Returning home, they corresponded with students of the evangelical theological seminaries; and on April 4, 1925, they organized at Pittsburg an inter seminary and inter-collegiate body. That the League is doctrinally sound is evident from the following, which is the basis of all its activities; Qualifications for membership in the League shall be faith in the Bible as the infallible W ord o f God, and the acceptance o f the fundamental truths o f the Christian religion, such as; the Trinity, the virgin birth o f Christ, His divine and His human nature, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection from the dead, and His com ing again. It has always been difficult to work with a shifting stu dent body. It is much like preaching to a procession. But through the League’s plan o f work, the students are imme diately responsible for a testimony to their own' asso ciates, and thus the most effective contact is secured. The League has made a commendable beginning: It now has chapters in thirty-one seminaries, colleges, and universities, with a total of more than 1,200 student mem bers enrolled. With more than a thousand institutions in the United States, an almost unlimited field is open for this important work. The organization provides for a Board of Trustees composed o f older and experienced Christian men and women who give counsel and assistance without assuming the peculiar service belonging to the students themselves. The officers and members of this governing body are: President, Rev. R. B. Kuiper, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Vice-President, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Evangelical Theological College, Dallas, Tex.; Treasurer, Mr. I. H. Linton, attorney-at-law, Washington, D .C .; Secretary, Dr. Albertus Pieters, Western Theolog ical Seminary, R.C.A., at Holland, Mich. Other trustees are: Mrs. William Borden, of New York; Dr. J. Gresham Machen, of Westminster Theological Seminary; Dr. Harold Paul Sloan, of Haddonfield, N. J .; Dr. Leander S. Keyser, of Hamma Theological Seminary; Dr. Clarence Bouma, of Calvin Seminary; Dr. John Paul, of Taylor College; Dr. H. Framer Smith, of the Moody Bible Insti tute; Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle, o f Xenia Theological Sem inary ; Bishop DuBose, of the Southern Methodist Church; Professor Paul Woolley, of Westminster Theological Sem inary, and Rev. Gerard Snell, of Cincinnati. For further information, address Mr. William J. Jones, Box 455, Wheaton, Illinois, who is the secretary o f the student organization.
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